This week I began a six week freelance writing course with Daily Writing Tips http://www.dailywritingtips.com/ and one of the first tasks was to create a writing plan. This couldn’t have come at a better time as I have been struggling to fit everything in. Today I have been busy adding up the hours I spend on the different areas of my life, trying to allocate my time more effectively (and make sure I leave time for fun too!). I feel that I am really going to benefit from coming up with a plan which not only meets my needs, but the needs of my family.
This process has been a real eye opener for me. Everyone has 168 hours a week to play with; there are no exceptions to this rule. If you work 35 hours a week in your main job, sleep for 7 hours a night, like to meditate for an hour a day and know that you benefit from exercising for 30 minutes a day (on average), that leaves 73.5 hours a week for ‘everything else’ which is over 10 hours a day.
In the above scenario, ‘everything else’ might include writing, family time, travelling time, housework, planning the week, thinking time, other hobbies and time to be spontaneous.
How much time did I allocate to writing?
The result was that I can realistically spend 22-25 hours a week on writing, which I’ve learnt should be split into peak and non-peak time (still working on that point). ‘Non-peak’ time, as Daily Writing Tips suggests, should be used for things like replying to emails and admin. This was a new concept for me as I thought that writing my daily blog at 10pm at night was a good time. Now I realise that it’s going to be more effective for me to complete this earlier in the day and maybe just edit and post it in my ‘evening’ writing slot!
My writing plan is not quite finalised but I am already feeling organised. I think I’ll just mull things over for a few days. I also need to discuss my new plan with the family so that everyone buys into it and appreciates that when I am writing, I am working. It will also make me feel less guilty, as I will have ample time with them too.
Do you have a writing plan and how much time do you spend writing per week?
Related posts
Better Writing Habits – The Truth about Finding the Time to Write:
http://betterwritinghabits.com/the-truth-about-finding-time-to-write/
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Until tomorrow…
Sandra
My writing challenge: http://wp.me/p1x6Ui-4
This blog: https://mywritingnotebook.wordpress.com
My other blog: http://sandramadeira.wordpress.com
My website: www.tipsandluxuries.com (includes the introduction to my upcoming book ‘A Gift for Stressed and Busy Parents’)
Twitter: @madeirasandra and @tipsandluxuries
Reference list:
Daily Writing Tips www.dailywritingtips.com
My Writing Notebook 
Wow… you sure found a lot of time in your life! For me, after work, making dinner, cleaning up, doing alundry getting the kids to bed, soccer practice, and four hours of soccer games on the weekend…. I’ve found the only thing I can do is cut out sleep. Either that, or never see my husband again.
Kudos to you for finding a way to carve out time!
Posted by Jennifer M Eaton | October 2, 2011, 2:22 amThanks for your comment Jennifer – wow you do sound busy! Creating a plan on paper was easy – let’s see if my plan works in practice!
(Sorry for calling you Jackie the other day on note 151, I think I must have been half asleep when I replied. Just amended my reply back to you)
Sandra
Posted by Sandra Madeira | October 2, 2011, 10:51 am